Mancini fails to take responsibility and Platt is left to pick up the pieces after City's title hopes are shattered at Goodison Park

David Platt was holding court, left with the unenviable job of explaining Manchester City’s feeble efforts, when a lone voice could be heard singing on the street outside Goodison Park.

'You lost the league on Merseyside!' mocked a giddy Evertonian, rejoicing in a 2-0 victory that was the product of one of his side’s finest efforts of the season. He was right. Now 15 points off top spot, City’s hopes of retaining their title have been shattered.

Yet what Roberto Mancini made of it all remains a mystery. As Platt attempted to offer something that resembled a case for the defence, Mancini spent his time pacing up and down the tunnel outside City’s dressing room before leaning against a wall.

Bleak: Roberto Mancini looked dejected as his side crumbled at Goodison Park

All over: The champions fell even further behind rivals Manchester United as the gap now stands at 15 points

The way in which he ran his hands through his air and stared at the floor, coming so soon after the agitated way he had behaved on the touchline during 90 wretched minutes, made it impossible but to draw anything but one conclusion: the pressure had finally got to him.

In many ways, though, his decision to refrain from media duties was in keeping with City’s day. Here was another failure to take responsibility, looking to someone else for direction. Mancini never turned up and nor did his team.

‘It’s tense, the stakes are high and you live that game for 90 minutes,’ said Platt, trying to soothe over Mancini’s no-show. ‘Immediately afterwards you are expected to come out, have a cool head and speak because if you don’t, you get into all sorts of mither.'

Avoiding responsibility: David Platt was left to speak to the media in the absence of Mancini

He added: ‘There is an appreciation of Roberto from the supporters and the owners. The expectancy levels of Roberto Mancini are a lot higher than what people think. If people want to talk about rumours and negatives that is up to them. We can’t stop that.

‘If people want to do things like that, they can. All I know is that during his career he has won things. That is what his focus, desire and intensity is about. He won’t want stop wanting to win things. He will regroup from this and by the time we play Newcastle he will have 100% focus.’

That may be so but the qualities about which Platt spoke were absent at a venue that resembled a bear pit on Saturday, a venue that also has become the stadium from Mancini’s nightmares. This was City’s fourth straight defeat at Goodison and this was their most comprehensive beating.

Even when Everton were reduced to 10 men after Steven Pienaar had been sent-off, they ran faster and tackled harder than City. In the technical area, meanwhile, the contrast was just as stark. As David Moyes coaxed and cajoled, Mancini postured and pouted.

Hitting the heights: Darron Gibson hauls Osman up by the collar after the midfielder gave Everton the lead

‘This game could not have come any quicker for us,’ said Leon Osman, who opened the scoring with a glorious 25-yard drive. ‘We wanted to make sure we put things right (after losing in the FA Cup to Wigan) the only way we knew how.

‘You have got to start well against a team like City. We needed to do that for the fans and for ourselves. The manager had reminded us through the week of what we can do teams when we are at our best. He reminded us that we can play.

‘He told us that we are a good team that can create chances and score goals, that we could get into their faces. That showed in our play. We got (stuck) into them and produced what you would call an Everton performance.’

It was the kind of relentless, aggressive performance you may have expected a side chasing the title to produce but, as it was, Osman’s sweet strike and Nikica Jelavic’s injury-time effort have revived Everton’s faint hopes of qualifying for the Champions League.

This also proved why suggestions from Evertonians that Moyes – who has not signed a new contract – has lost his hunger and commitment are risible.

‘I think this has been a reminder to the fans about where we are and what we have achieved,’ said Moyes, who celebrated his 11th anniversary at the helm. ‘Maybe they do need that reminder sometimes. I've definitely given Everton the respect with my work here. I hope that's mutual.’